Coaching Kids – Best Practice

Can you remember your favourite coach when you were younger? Why do you remember that person? Was it because you had a lot of fun? Was it because you learned a lot? Was it because you were made to feel good when the coach spoke to you?

Whatever the reason there are messages from this coach that can be relayed to your coaching. Think about what they might be and include them in your coaching style.

Kids need to be motivated more than ever these days if the coach is going to hold their interest. So how best do coaches keep the players motivated whilst developing their confidence, competence, knowledge and understanding.

Start with the players having fun while they work things out for themselves.

Let them play. Playing can be in mini games with a few simple rules or just dividing up in to two teams and playing rugby under the normal laws. 

Watch them play and observe carefully.  What aspects of the game require support? These may be physical requirements that include fitness, technical and game understanding or social aspects such as being a better team player or coping with mistakes. There may be emotional support required away from the game.

Remember, coaching is all about improving these youngsters as rugby players and as individuals.

Becoming a skilled observer and an understanding coach is just another aspect of growing in to your role.  This will enable each coach to provide support and help with each individual's game.

There are different ways the coach can help them.  Use questions, challenges and ideas for the players to gain a greater understanding and select the correct skill requirement for the whole team or small groups of players, or if you have time, just the individual.

In many cases each player will have a slightly different requirement from another team mate. However, it should not be forgotten that the basic skills need to be practiced and improved by everyone in the first instance.
There are many helpful technical aspects and activities in the 'Coaching Toolbox'.

Following on from the period in the coaching session where the players have been provided with the specific help the group be left to play once again. This is where they can put their new experiences in to action and understand the new opportunities that open up because of an improved skill set or game understanding.

So a coaching plan may be made up at the practice itself particularly when you are coaching young players. The coach just needs to be competent enough and have sufficient knowledge to be able to fit all these aspects together on the night.

The basic aspects that would need to be covered off would be catching, passing, running, evasive skills, tackling or Rippa requirements, support play and restarts. These can all be located in the 'Coaching Toolbox'.